Bi Luo Chun Red (Black) Tea

This red tea from Yunnan is called Bi Lui Chun (the name of a famous green tea) because its leaves are carefully rolled during processing. The final form of this product is not quite like that of Bi Lui Chun but still manages to bear a striking resemblance to the famous green tea. The practice of folding the leaves is in fact intended to ensure that the aromas and certain flavour substances are brought as far as possible to the surface of the leaf and can be easily extracted in hot water. The famous Bi Lui Chun green tea is renowned for its distinctive aromas and this red tea, with its shapes, aims to express its aromatic potential in the cup.

During tasting, this tea will bring mainly cocoa-like aromas to the palate without allowing the oxidised character to emerge too much. In its place will be the sensation of a very soft body capable of picking up well the hint of cocoa and the slight tannic notes that will come after several sips. There is also, finally, a slightly fruitier, nectarine sweet note that will at times exceed in intensity the main cocoa characteristic in the infusion.

Place of origin

Yunnan, China

Production

After harvesting, the leaves are left to wither in the sun for a certain amount of time depending on the producer before moving on to the folding stage. The leaves are then folded and rolled so that the juices inside are stirred and the oxidation process can begin. For this tea, the leaves are exposed to a progressive increase in temperature during oxidation and, once the leaf reaches its typical brown colour, the residual internal moisture is removed. After a few days’ rest, the tea is ready for consumption.

How to prepare

We highly recommend infusing this tea in the traditional Chinese method (gong fu cha) to best enjoy these leaves. Following this preparation you could use 5 grams of leaves (about 4 teaspoons) in a gaiwan of 100 ml so you can obtains more infusions with different flavors. After a quick rinse of the leaves in water at 95°C, a first infusion of 10 seconds can be made, after which, keeping the water at the same temperature, the time can be increased each time by 10 seconds compared to the previous infusion (20 – 30 – 40 …).

This tea has a longevity of about 6 infusions.

For a classic preparation according to the Western style we recommend 2 grams of leaves (approx. 1 teaspoon) in a 150 ml cup with water at 95°C for an infusion time of one and a half minutes.

The tea can be filtered for easier tasting and also the above brewing times are purely indicative so can be adjusted according to personal taste.

Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.